The Shadow of Great Britain

426: Chapter 241: Hastings Worried about the Country and the People (5K4) 426: Chapter 241: Hastings Worried about the Country and the People (5K4) Arthur listened to Palmerston’s words and didn’t react with the panic Palmerston had anticipated.

Since joining Scotland Yard and patrolling the East End at night several times, Arthur had realized that the difference between people wasn’t as significant as he had imagined, especially in terms of psychological fortitude, which could definitely be trained.

As a seasoned Scotland Yard officer, he thought that threats of treason were clearly not as direct as having a gangster from the East End hold a knife to his throat.

Arthur merely smiled lightly and said, “Of course, your Excellency, I understand your concerns about the recent public opinion in London.

Driven by their simple moral sense, the citizens want to coerce the government into doing something for the people of Poland, but limited by their level of knowledge, they aren’t as aware of the true situation in Poland as you are.

Thus, it’s easy for someone with a hidden agenda to incite the Londoners’ confrontational spirits through the media.”

Palmerston, upon hearing this, displayed a satisfied smile, stood up, and opened his liquor cabinet to pour a drink for Arthur, saying, “You’re right, Arthur, not all citizens have the ability to discern the truth of information.

The Foreign Office holds more specific information than they do, and from what we have gathered, the real situation in Poland is certainly not as dire as depicted in newspapers and magazines.”

Arthur, gazing at the dark red wine swirling in the goblet, continued with a smile, “Of course, that’s exactly why I believe that these reports about Poland appearing in ‘The Economist’ are a good thing.”

“Hmm?” Palmerston paused in mid-pour and said with a laugh, “Arthur, why do you say that?”

Arthur replied, “Just as I was telling you, I also serialize novels in ‘The Economist’, and thanks to the affection of the citizenry, my novels are quite popular.

Your Excellency, as you know, the times have changed.

Nowadays, assessing a person’s status involves not just their birthright or the power they hold, but also how much money they can make.”

Fittingly, I am quite capable of making money for ‘The Economist.’ For this reason, I have a bit of say in the editorial department of ‘The Economist.’ If those articles involving Poland were published in ‘The Times,’ I likely wouldn’t be able to do much about them.”

As you know, the freedom to publish was an issue fervently fought for by the Whig Party during the Tory administration.

Scotland Yard cannot overthrow the achievements of the current ruling party, nor should it become involved in such political matters.”

Not to mention, with the influence of ‘The Times,’ if our officers stepped into their editorial office today, tomorrow they would have seven or eight pages lambasting us as supporters of autocracy.

But the situation with ‘The Economist’ is obviously different; if an article is published there, as a pillar and a shareholder, I naturally have the authority to suggest certain amendments and provide input on the content of each issue.”

If you have any discontent with articles about Prince Chartoryski and Louis Bonaparte published in ‘The Economist,’ you can find me, and I will convey the discontent of the Foreign Office to the editors of ‘The Economist.’

However, if ‘The Economist’ outright rejects their manuscripts and they turn to ‘The Times’ and ‘The Guardian’, how should we respond then?

While you could continue to exert pressure on those two newspapers in other respects, pardon my frankness, but based on my years of experience at Scotland Yard, circulation is the lifeblood of news media.”

As long as it boosts circulation, there will always be newspapers willing to publish their articles; even if ‘The Times’ and ‘The Guardian’ refuse, other lesser papers will sure find a bunch of daredevils.

Ha-ha, I wonder if you’ve heard of William Cobbett of ‘Poor Man’s Political Monthly’ and Hetherington of ‘Poor Man’s Guardian’?

They are typical examples of those who are fearless.”

The most troublesome is, I’ve heard Mr.

Cobbett is actively running for member of parliament, and according to recent polls, he stands a good chance of getting elected.

Even before becoming an MP, Mr.

Cobbett dared to sharply criticize the government and the military for corruption, which landed him in jail for two years.

Upon release, not only did he not soften his stance, but he also became even more audacious.”

When he was not an MP, Mr.

Cobbett was already like this.

If he were to be elected, Scotland Yard would then…

Your Excellency, you must have also heard about the recent Bernie Harrison case, which still leaves the officers uneasy.”

Palmerston leaned back into the sofa upon hearing this, holding his wineglass thoughtfully.

Just like Arthur said, London had indeed seen an increase in papers and magazines criticizing the Polish issue, but it was precisely because of the sensitive nature of the authors at ‘The Economist,’ a supplement of ‘The Economist,’ that Palmerston had targeted them.

However, reconsidering the matter, even if ‘The Economist’ did not publish the articles, other newspapers would.

If they indeed approached Cobbett and Hetherington, such tough nuts, the Foreign Office really wouldn’t have any way to deal with them.”

Firstly, both individuals had been jailed before and held no official positions, so the idea of arrest didn’t faze them in the slightest.